Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Surely It Must Be April Fools....

When I heard this story today I thought it surely must be an April Fools story as the building has been designed and checked by numerous independent Engineers and meets all the building codes... maybe a psychiatrist could help with the motion sickness http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/37/1/42
Civil servants complain new building making them seasick
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
CBC News
Some employees with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Charlottetown say movement in the floors of the new building where they work is giving them motion sickness.
'Some employees were finding it throwing off their balance a little bit.'— Ian LeClair, health and safety committee, DVA
The offices are leased space in the new headquarters of P.E.I. developer APM, on the Lower Malpeque Road in the north of the city. Engineers have confirmed the building is safe, and aren't sure what to do about the complaints.
"If you jump close to [a] workstation you can see the monitor give a little shake, that should be fairly solid," Ian LeClair, who is with the workplace health and safety committee for Veterans Affairs, told CBC News.
LeClair doesn't work in the second-floor offices, and hasn't felt the floor move himself. Another member of the committee who does work in the building was told by DVA not to give an interview.
At least half a dozen of 100 IT workers in the building have complained.
"Some employees were finding it throwing off their balance a little bit, to get the sensation of seasickness or motion sickness," said LeClair.
'Not a structural problem'
No one is worried about the safety of the building, since it has passed a city inspection and engineers with the federal Department of Public Works say it meets the national building code.
Kerry Taylor of Public Works said it's natural for steel buildings to have a certain amount of flex.
"There's no defined deficiency," said Taylor.
"There's some operating issues with the people that are in the building, so we'll have to work with them and do a more thorough investigation to define exactly what is the problem. It's not a structural problem with the building."
APM owner Tim Banks would not do an interview on this story but did reiterate that there are no structural problems with the building.
Taylor won't speculate what might eventually be done to appease the workers. The health and safety committee is expecting a report from government at its next meeting.